[Introduced January 9, 2014; referred to the Committee on
Government Organization; and then to the Committee on the
Judiciary.]

____________

A BILL to amend and reenact §62-11C-5 and §62-11C-7 of the Code of
West Virginia, 1931, as amended; and to amend said code by
adding thereto a new article, designated §62-11F-1, §62-11F-2,
§62-11F-3, §62-11F-4 and §62-11F-5, all relating to
authorizing community corrections programs to operate pretrial
release program; permitting certain fees to be assessed to
county commissions; permitting certain fees to be assessed to
persons on pretrial release; stating applicability of pretrial
release programs; establishing guidelines for pretrial release
programs; providing for potential funding sources; requiring
community pretrial committees to recommend release of certain
persons facing criminal charges who are in regional jails
prior to adjudication; and setting forth the duties of
pretrial release programs.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

That §62-11C-5 and §62-11C-7 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, be amended and reenacted; and that said code be
amended by adding thereto a new article, designated §62-11F-1, §62-11F-2, §62-11F-3, §62-11F-4 and §62-11F-5, all to read as follows:

ARTICLE 11C. THE WEST VIRGINIA COMMUNITY CORRECTIONS ACT.

§62-11C-5. Establishment of programs.

(a) Any county or combination of counties or a county or
counties and a Class I or II municipality may establish and operate
community corrections programs, as provided for in this section, to
be used both prior to trial as a condition of bond in circuit and
magistrate court, as well as an alternative sentencing option for
those offenders sentenced within the jurisdiction of the county or
counties which establish and operate the program: Provided, That
the chief judge must certify that the community corrections
facility is available for use in connection with the imposition of
pretrial bond conditions.

(b) Any county or combination of counties or a county or
counties and a Class I or II municipality that seek to establish
programs as authorized in this section shall submit plans and
specifications for the programs to be established, including
proposed budgets, for review and approval by the community
corrections subcommittee established in section three of this
article.

(c) Any county or combination of counties or a county or
counties and a Class I or II municipality may establish and operate
an approved community corrections program to provide alternative
sanctioning options for an offender who is convicted of an offense
for which he or she may be sentenced to a period of incarceration
in a county or regional jail or a state correctional facility and
for which probation or home incarceration may be imposed as an
alternative to incarceration.

(d) Community corrections programs authorized by subsection
(a) of this section may provide, but are not limited to, providing
any of the following services:

(1) Probation supervision programs;

(2) Day fine programs;

(3) Community service restitution programs;

(4) Home incarceration programs;

(5) Substance abuse treatment programs;

(6) Sex offender containment programs;

(7) Licensed domestic violence offender treatment programs;

(8) Day reporting centers;

(9) Educational or counseling programs;

(10) Drug courts; or

(11) Community beautification and reclamation programs for
state highways, municipal, county and state parks and recreation
areas and community gardens; and

(12) Pretrial release programs.

(e) A county or combination of counties or a county or
counties and a Class I or II municipality which establish and
operate community corrections programs as provided for in this
section may contract with other counties to provide community
corrections services.

(f) For purposes of this section, the phrase "may be sentenced
to a period of incarceration" means that the statute defining the
offense provides for a period of incarceration as a possible
penalty.

(g) No provision of this article may be construed to allow a
person participating in or under the supervision of a community
corrections program to earn good time or any other reduction in
sentence.

§62-11C-7. Supervision or participation fee.

(a) A circuit judge, magistrate, municipal court judge or
community criminal justice board may require the payment of a
supervision or participation fee from any person required to be
supervised by or participate in a community corrections program.
The circuit judge, magistrate, municipal court judge or community
criminal justice board shall consider the person’s ability to pay
in determining the imposition and amount of the fee.

(b) A circuit judge, magistrate or community criminal justice
board may require payment of a supervision or participation fee of
$7 per person per day of pretrial supervision from the county
commission pursuant to a pretrial release program established
pursuant to article eleven-f of this chapter.

(c) A circuit judge, magistrate or community criminal justice
board may also require payment of a supervision or participation
fee of $30 per month of pretrial supervision from the person under
supervision pursuant to a pretrial release program established
pursuant to article eleven-f of this chapter.

(b)(d) All fees ordered by the circuit court, magistrate
court, municipal court or community criminal justice board pursuant
to this section are to be paid to the community criminal justice
board, who shall remit the fees monthly to the treasurer of the
county designated as the fiscal agent for the board pursuant to
section six of this article.

ARTICLE 11F. PRETRIAL RELEASE PROGRAMS.

§62-11F-1. Applicability.

This article applies to adult defendants who have been charged
with one or more misdemeanors or felonies and are incarcerated in
a regional jail prior to adjudication.

§62-11F-2. Establishment of pretrial release programs.

(a) It is the purpose of pretrial release programs to employ
recommendations from the Council of State Government’s Justice
Center’s Analyses and Policy Options to Reduce Spending on
Corrections and Reinvest in Strategies to Increase Public Safety,
by providing for uniform statewide risk assessment and monitoring
of those released prior to trial, facilitating a statewide response
to the problem of overcrowded regional jails and costs to county
commissions.

(b) Any county, circuit or combination thereof which elects or
is required to establish a pretrial program pursuant to this
article shall establish a local community pretrial committee which
consists of a prosecutor, county commissioner, sheriff, executive
director of a community corrections program, chief probation
officer and a member of the criminal defense bar, or any of those
persons’ designee. The committee shall meet, at a minimum, once
per week to review and recommend pretrial release of defendants to
the court.

(c) Pretrial release programs shall be funded by
appropriations made to the Supreme Court of Appeals for such
purpose.

§62-11F-3. Pretrial release program guidelines.

(a) The Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia has complete
oversight and authority over all pretrial services.

(b) The Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia shall
establish recommended guidelines for pretrial programs to use when
ordering pretrial release for defendants whose pretrial risk
assessment indicate that they are an appropriate candidate for
pretrial release.

(c) The Community Corrections Subcommittee of the Governor’s
Committee on Crime, Delinquency and Corrections, pursuant to
section two, article eleven-c, chapter sixty-two of this code,
shall approve policy and funding for the development, maintenance
and evaluation of pretrial release programs. Any county, circuit
or combination thereof that establishes a pretrial program intended
to provide pretrial release services shall submit a grant proposal
to the Community Corrections Subcommittee of the Governor’s
Committee on Crime, Delinquency and Correction for review and
approval.

§62-11F-4. Pretrial release assessment.

The Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia may adopt a
standardized pretrial risk assessment for use by pretrial release
programs to aid in making pretrial decisions under article one-c of
this chapter.

§62-11F-5. Role of pretrial release programs.

(a) A pretrial release program established by any county,
circuit or combination thereof, pursuant to this article, shall:

(1) Collect and present the necessary information, present
risk assessment and make release recommendations to the court.

(2) Present information to the court relating to the risk
defendants may pose in failing to appear in court or of threatening
the safety of the community or any other person and, consistent
with court policy, develop release recommendations responding to
risk;

(3) Develop and provide appropriate and effective supervision
for all persons released pending adjudication who are assigned
supervision as a condition of release;

(4) Monitor compliance of released defendants with the
requirements of assigned release conditions;

(5) Promptly inform the court of all apparent violations of
pretrial release conditions or arrests of persons released pending
trial, including those directly supervised by pretrial services as
well as those released under other forms of conditional release,
and recommend appropriate modifications of release conditions;

(6) Coordinate the services of other agencies, individuals or
organizations that may serve as custodians for released defendants,
and advise the court as to their appropriateness, availability,
reliability and capacity relating to pretrial release conditions;

(7) Review the status of detained defendants on ongoing basis
for any changes in eligibility for release options and facilitate
their release as soon as feasible and appropriate;